Iirc He wasn’t lost. Somebody told the authorities, that the guy was missing and that he wanted to go on a hike. So they called him to see if he really was lost. He didn’t answer the call, so they presumed he was injured or lost his phone. With this information they declared him lost and started a search.
I looked up a full article.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/26/hiker-lost-on-us-mountain-ignored-calls-from-rescuers-because-he-didnt-recognise-the-number
He did lose his trail, but wasn’t at the point where he wanted to call for help. It looks like he wasn’t aware that, if a lodge host at popular hiking spots asks about your plans for the day, it isn’t just small talk.